THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 6, 1994 TAG: 9411060334
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLIE DENN, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
It has been almost four years since William and Mary last registered a football shutout. In fact, the last time it happened came in the first round of the I-AA playoffs against Massachusetts in November 1990.
So it was only natural that the Tribe's 17-0 blanking of Maine Saturday at Zabel Stadium stirred talk of renewed hope for the team's chances of making the 1994 playoffs.
``I think it looks pretty impressive,'' said William and Mary defensive back Darren Sharper of the shutout. ``Maybe we need to beat teams by as much as we can to impress the playoff people, but a shutout's got to get their attention.''
``I hope 17-0 is impressive enough,'' added tailback Derek Fitzgerald.
And coach Jimmye Laycock noted that in these high-scoring times in college football, a shutout is pretty unique.
``Any time you shut someone out in college today,'' Laycock said, ``that looks pretty convincing.''
William and Mary's victory will keep the team in the playoff picture. William and Mary is ranked 20th this week but three Yankee Conference teams have better overall records.
No conference has ever sent more than three teams to the 16-team playoff field. So the deck is stacked against the Tribe barring upsets.
``All we can do is keep winning,'' Sharper said. ``Then we'll see.''
The Tribe, which improved to 7-3 overall, 5-2 in the Yankee Conference, has been getting increasingly steady play from its defense in recent weeks. William and Mary limited Maine to 241 yards Saturday and was the big-play unit when it needed to be in the second half.
With a comfortable 17-0 lead at halftime, the defense rose to the occasion in the last 30 minutes. Maine gambled on fourth down three times in the last half and on each occasion the Tribe turned the Black Bears away without a first down.
The first stand was midway through the third period when Maine was at the William and Mary 11. It was fourth and 1 when Andre Pam was dropped for a 1-yard loss on a hit by linebacker Stefon Moody.
``We drew strength from that,'' said Sharper, who had eight tackles and intercepted a pass on the day.
Then in the fourth quarter, two more fourth-down stands frustrated the Black Bears, now 3-7 and 2-5 in the league.
``We're not at William and Mary's caliber,'' explained Maine coach Jack Cosgrove of his fourth-down decisions. ``We've got to pull some stops out to get points on the board, and we just didn't convert.''
It was a good thing the Tribe defense was playing well, because the offense was sporadic. Turnovers were the main culprit in a 318-yard day, but quarterback Shawn Knight also was at less than his best.
Knight completed 9-of-20 passes for only 64 yards. He was also intercepted twice.
``I think Knight is the best in the league,'' Cosgrove said. ``But I bet when I watch this tape, I'll probably say that's the poorest he's ever played.''
Knight, who missed time during the week as he continues to rehabilitate a sprained ankle, admitted he wasn't sharp. A year ago he tossed six TD passes and threw for 322 yards against Maine.
``I didn't play well at all,'' he said. ``They changed their defensive scheme from last year and they put more pressure on me, but I don't make excuses.''
Fitzgerald was the Tribe's primary offensive focus. He carried 25 times for a season-high 142 yards and scored once.
``We seemed to move the football well,'' Fitzgerald said. ``We'd get to the red zone and then we couldn't punch it in. But the defense was the story today.
``A lot of times at William and Mary, the defense gets overlooked. They wanted this shutout today and I'm happy they got it.''
The Tribe is off this week before closing the regular season Nov. 19 at Richmond.
``I know we've got seven wins now,'' Laycock said, ``and a lot of I-A teams would like to have seven wins. That gets you into a bowl game in Division I-A.'' by CNB